Science fiction is filled with both incredible inventions that became reality and incredible inventions that we hope will become reality at some point in the future. But, then, there is also a third category of inventions that, while amazing, have some unexpectedly troubling implications. »3/02/15 4:20pm Yesterday 4:20pm

One of the greatest conundrums to face humanity is the question of extraterrestrial life. Many explanations have been posited over the years to explain why we have yet to make first contact, some better than others. Here are seven of the weakest solutions to the vexing problem known as the Fermi Paradox. »3/02/15 11:00am Yesterday 11:00am

No one sets out to make a dystopia, but there are some futuristic inventions that seem ripe for unintended consequences. So set aside that killer robot you've been putting together in your garage and for goodness sake halt your lab work on that food replacement pill, and tell us about your own personal tech nightmares.»3/02/15 7:00am Yesterday 7:00am

Designer Oscar Viñals has sketched out the designs for a concept aircraft called the "Progress Eagle." The dramatic three deck, 800-seat super jet would utilize an advanced hybrid engine system for taking off and cruising, resulting in reduced noise and zero contaminant emissions. »2/27/15 6:20am Friday 6:20am

Every group of people has a set of skills that they think of as fundamental — but what those skills are tends to change a lot, depending on where, and especially when, you are. Here are the skills that, if they do survive in the future, may be so fundamentally changed that we can no longer even recognize them.»2/24/15 4:20pm 2/24/15 4:20pm

What if your city elected a Replicant as mayor and you didn't know it? There's only way to guard against this situation, and that's by administering the Voight-Kampff test to every single candidate during the mayoral election. One newspaper in San Francisco did that back in 2003, and the results were amazing. »2/23/15 1:47pm 2/23/15 1:47pm

Increasingly powerful AI is poised to threaten many well-established professions. A strong case can be made that no industry or job is safe — including the upper echelons of corporate governance. The era is fast approaching when companies will be able to operate with virtually no human intervention. Here's how it… »2/20/15 12:00pm 2/20/15 12:00pm

Normally, the things around us become damaged after experiencing an unexpected disruption or shock. But there are aspects to our world that actually get better after a setback. Here's why things that don't kill us can sometimes make us stronger.»2/19/15 10:15am 2/19/15 10:15am

You may feel squeamish about chomping down insects with their eyes, legs, and antennae still intact, but would you eat insects if they were disguised in butter and sugar-filled cookies? We baked chocolate chip cookies made from pulverized insects and brought them to our office where our brave coworkers tasted them. »2/18/15 12:00pm 2/18/15 12:00pm

Many of us dream of living on other planets, but are two things we'll need before it can actually happen: money and raw materials. Now some companies say they have a solution to this problem. They'll mine asteroids for valuable metal ores, and for basic resources like water that we'll need once we're far from Earth.»2/17/15 4:56pm 2/17/15 4:56pm

Troops fighting pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine are being equipped with 3D-printed aerial drones. The AEVs, which are being paid for by volunteers, are currently being used at the front. »2/13/15 4:40pm 2/13/15 4:40pm

This coming weekend at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, experts will be discussing the potential benefits and risks of a SETI scheme in which messages about Earth — including the entire contents of Wikipedia — would be transmitted to hundreds of star systems. »2/09/15 8:40am 2/09/15 8:40am

The waiting list for organ transplants is growing at an alarming rate while the number of potential organ donors has failed to keep pace. Encouragingly, scientists are working several high-tech solutions in the field of regenerative medicine. We spoke to the experts to learn how organ shortages will soon become a…»2/02/15 11:00am 2/02/15 11:00am

DARPA-funded researchers at the University of Maryland have developed a system that enables robot a robot to interpret, learn and perform the tasks demonstrated in YouTube cooking videos. »1/30/15 1:01pm 1/30/15 1:01pm